The letter
It arrives with little real warning: the home is closing, or being sold to another provider, or — the vaguest formulation — «reconfiguring its places». Sometimes with a date, sometimes with a promise of more information.
The instinct is to start ringing other homes. Before that, two things need answering, and the second one is where large sums sit.
The money: the deposit is guaranteed
If your mother paid a refundable accommodation deposit, that is often a very substantial sum, and the first fear is losing it in a collapse.
Here is the reassurance most families never receive: Australia operates an accommodation payment guarantee scheme. Where an approved provider becomes insolvent or otherwise fails to refund, the Australian Government refunds the balance of the deposit to the resident or their estate and then pursues the provider itself.
So the deposit is not simply at the mercy of the provider's finances. What you should still do:
- Ask in writing for a current statement of the refundable balance, including deductions made and interest applied.
- Ask when it will be refunded and under what timeframe — refunds are subject to legislated periods when a resident leaves.
- Keep every document. The agreement, the statements, the correspondence about the closure.
The other question: who has to help her move?
Approved providers operate under Australian Government approval and must notify the regulator of material changes, including ceasing to provide care. A closure is therefore not a private matter between you and the manager: the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission has a role, and the quality standards continue to apply right up to the last day.
Write to the Commission early, not late, and say what your mother needs — memory support, assistance with eating, overnight supervision. And bring in a free, independent aged care advocate from the outset: transitions are exactly what they are funded to help with.
The case that is not a closure: a change of provider
If the home is sold and continues operating, your mother does not have to move. Ask the incoming provider, in writing:
- "Does the resident agreement continue on the same terms?" A change of owner is not itself a reason for new fees.
- "Is the deposit balance transferring intact, and will I receive a statement confirming it?"
- "Does the service remain approved, with the same places?"
- "Is the staff staying?" That predicts the next six months better than anything in the letter.
What to do in the first 48 hours
- Request the deposit statement and the refund timeframe in writing.
- Notify the Commission and request support with the transition.
- Contact an aged care advocate — free, independent, and they will deal with the provider for you.
- Ask for the care plan and clinical records to be provided to you now. In closures, files go missing, and you will need them for every home you approach.
- Check her assessment is current so a new home can act on it without a fresh delay.
What not to accept
- A move announced days in advance to a home you have not seen.
- A destination without what she needs — a memory support unit, experience with her clinical needs, adequate overnight staffing. Being relocated is not the same as being placed.
- "Take her home in the meantime." It is the worst outcome and shifts everything onto you. If there is no suitable destination, put that in writing to the Commission and the advocate.
The move is a clinical risk, not just a logistical one
Relocating a frail older person — especially with dementia — commonly brings disorientation, poor appetite and disrupted sleep in the following weeks. Not a reason to refuse, but a reason to insist it is done properly: a visit beforehand, a handover between the two clinical teams, familiar belongings in the room before she arrives, and no medication changes on moving day.
Ask explicitly for direct contact between the two clinical managers. It reduces the harm more than anything else and it is the step most often skipped.
The practical point
Get the deposit statement in writing and know that a government guarantee scheme stands behind it. Notify the Commission and bring in an advocate on day one rather than at the end. If it is a sale rather than a closure, the agreement continues and the fees do not rise for that reason. And request the clinical records immediately.
If you do need to build an alternative quickly, Curalune Care Help gives you the starting point: 3 to 5 suitable homes matched to the real situation within 24 working hours, with contact details, links and a ready-to-send message to all of them at once. A$109, one-off. Start here
The accommodation payment guarantee scheme, refund timeframes, provider notification obligations, the quality standards and the Commission's role are set by Australian Government aged care legislation and are revised regularly; individual arrangements are set out in each resident agreement. Free help is available from an aged care advocate and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, and financial advice is worth taking on any large refundable balance. This article is general information and is not legal or financial advice. Curalune does not allocate places and does not guarantee availability.